A dying 10-year-old Rio Grande City girl began a fund-raiser to earn $25,000 for a VeinViewer machine for the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Children’s Cancer and Hematology Clinic in McAllen

June 6, 2007 – The Monitor
By Rachel Flarity

Daniela Villarreal rests against her mother and closes her eyes. She’s tired but happy. She knows she has reached her goal.

The 10-year-old Rio Grande City girl began a fund-raiser to earn $25,000 for a VeinViewer machine for the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Children’s Cancer and Hematology Clinic in McAllen, a joint project of the Texas Children’s Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine and the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Cancer Foundation.

Within a month, Daniela had achieved her objective.

“She doesn’t want people to get poked and poked and poked every time,” said Diego Villarreal, Daniela’s 9-year-old brother. “She doesn’t want them to feel the pain.”

The VeinViewer is a machine that uses infrared light to create an image of a patient’s vein, allowing physicians and nurses to locate veins without unnecessary sticking. Officials say the machine, set to be presented today, will be the first of its kind in the Rio Grande Valley.

The need for the machine is apparent from bandages that adorn Daniela’s arm.

“These doctors and nurses are great, but it is hard to draw blood — her veins are so small from the chemotherapy,” Daniela’s mother, Dolly Villarreal, said at the clinic Tuesday. Daniela had come in for a routine checkup.

Daniela and her entire family are an inspiration to the clinic and the community. As they tread into the clinic, each is smiling, joking, happy. They are proud of Daniela, proud of her selflessness.

After four years of battling leukemia, Daniela’s own cancer is no longer in remission. She is in palliative care — a form of hospice treatment.

Although she won’t benefit from the VeinViewer as much as other patients, she is happy because that was part of her goal, too — helping others.

“These doctors and nurses are great, but it is hard to draw blood — her veins are so small from the chemotherapy,” Daniela’s mother, Dolly Villarreal, said at the clinic Tuesday. Daniela had come in for a routine checkup.

“She doesn’t want people to get poked and poked and poked every time,” said Diego Villarreal, Daniela’s 9-year-old brother. “She doesn’t want them to feel the pain.”

“‘Suck it up’ is our family motto,” Dolly said. “But she doesn’t want it to have to be other kids’ mottos.”

The idea for the machine came earlier this year when Daniela underwent a bone marrow transplant in Houston.

While leafing through a magazine at the hospital, Dolly and Daniela saw an advertisement for the VeinViewer.

“Daniela saw a picture of a foot using the VeinViewer and said, ‘We’ve got to get one for the clinic.’” Dolly said.

When they returned home, the Villarreals found out the machine’s high cost. “The nurses said, ‘Oh, Daniela it is $25,000,’ and she said ‘Oh, we can raise that by the end of the year,’” Dolly said.

Despite Daniela’s grave state recently, she and the clinic began a letter-writing campaign in April. One letter caught the attention of someone in particular: Texas first lady Anita Perry. The governor’s wife visited Daniela and her family last month, donating $10,000 to Daniela’s campaign.

“It was such an honor to meet her,” Dolly said.

The campaign attracted donations from individuals, companies, schools and even the company that makes the VeinViewer, Memphis, Tenn.-based Luminetx Corp.

Luis Carriles, a sales representative for Coastal Life Systems Inc., which sells the VeinViewer, said the company put a rush on Daniela’s machine, sending in their regional manager to install it so Daniela could be a part of the occasion.

“We just want to present (Daniela) with all her hard work,” Carriles said.

Laura Ilgun, the clinic’s public relations director, said every time Daniela visits the clinic, blood work is required.

About four weeks into her treatment, her cancer went into remission. About nine months later, though, she became paralyzed from the neck down, a side effect of the disease and treatment.

Through physical therapy, Daniela regained movement from the waist up. Now, however, family and physicians say her cancer is an advanced state. Despite this, Daniela forged ahead with her letter writing and the campaign took on a life of its own.

Shyly, Daniela — who had been dozing on and off, cradled in her mother’s lap — says, “I just wanted to help.”

“Other people got the letters and sent them out on their own — it was a small idea that took off,” Dolly said.

Daniela’s wheelchair is decorated with crystal beads and a Tinker Bell sticker she made herself. She and her family said they try to find the positive in everything they face. “Daniela wants to leave her mark here at the clinic,” Dolly said.

As the Villarreals relax in the chemotherapy room at the clinic, they sit closely together, laughing, joking and supporting each other. Their love and strength is magnetic. Shyly, Daniela — who had been dozing on and off, cradled in her mother’s lap — says, “I just wanted to help.”

More about How Daniela Villareal brought the VeinViewer to Vannie Cook

As an international leader in pediatric cancer research and treatment, Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers are joint programs of Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. The Centers are dedicated to providing novel therapies and family-centered care to children from infancy through young adulthood with cancer and blood disorders – from the most common to very rare. Texas Children’s Cancer Center is the pediatric program of BCM’s NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center.
Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the #2 Center in the United States, Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers treats more childhood cancer and hematology patients than any other program in the U.S., with patients coming from 35 states and 26 countries around the world.